Bisnow Exclusive: Techie Brokerage's Big Plans
We got the exclusive on one tech and startup brokerage's expansion plans for S.F. and beyond. The first step: nab two Cushman heavyweights (and they aren't talking about couches).
C&W's Jon Dishotsky and Cutter MacLeod just joined Jenny Haeg (pictured above, with Jon) at Custom Spaces, where the team is working on over 60 active deals totaling 1M SF and with a fresh batch of 60 companies every quarter. (Jenny launched Custom Spaces in 2011 and works exclusively with startups, VC firms, and tech companies, including Airbnb, Spotify, and Square, to name a few.) With all this work, the firm—now at six people—plans to double in a year, as well as expand to NYC. The firm's new office at 58 South Park sits in a neighborhood that's ground zero for SoMa startups and a popular pit stop for a young lunchtime crowd.
In addition to S.F., the team (Cutter is pictured to the far left) is finding tenants spaces in New York, LA, Tokyo, Berlin, and DC. Instead of going the traditional, secure high-rise route in the Financial District for its own offices, the brokerage sits on the ground floor at 58 South Park and encourages clients to pop in and out. (Jenny spotted the space's for-rent sign, which had only been up for a few hours. She immediately dialed the agent and sealed the deal.)
One job criteria at Custom Spaces: You must walk—or roll—the startup talk (the office just got scooters, above). There are skateboards too, which keeps Cutter (a former pro) happy as a clam, while Jon mans the music (he was deejaying house parties in high school with vinyl records during the last tech boom). Jon just wrapped up the last two floors for Optimizely at 631 Howard, taking the balance of the 100k SF building; Jon and Cutter's tech-heavy client list also includes Weebly and Scribd and they've collectively leased some 4M SF of office space over eight years.
